The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting + Video
This is the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting recipe that you will ever make! It’s thick, sturdy, pipeable, and lightly sweet with only 1 cup of powdered sugar!
Use it on red velvet cake, carrot cake, any other cake, inside sandwich cookies or cake rolls, or on top of cinnamon rolls. The possibilities are endless!
Why is this the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting?
Okay ya’ll! I’m serious when I say this is the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting recipe out there! I’ve tried so many kinds. Other recipes tend to be soft and stringy. (No thank you!) This has been my go-to recipe since 2014.
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This cream cheese frosting is stiff, sturdy, pipe-able, spreadable, you name it! Plus, it’s NOT overly sweet like the other recipes either.
The beauty of cream cheese frosting is that it should be tangy and and taste like cream cheese. Not be taken over by gobs of powdered sugar like a buttercream frosting. (However my even my buttercream frosting uses far less sugar.)
The Difference from Other Recipes
See the ripples in that frosting? Yep, that’s proof right there that it’s stiff enough to pipe and decorate with. The big difference between this recipe and all those other ones floating around the web, is that this recipe uses more butter and less powdered sugar.
More butter and less powdered sugar gives the cream cheese frosting a buttery, creamy texture, yet still has that tangy cream cheese flavor to it.
Less powdered sugar helps it not be stringy, and the butter helps to lighten and fluff up the frosting.
That’s right! More powdered sugar (can) = stringy frosting!!!
It’s a fine dance. You have to use way less powdered sugar, or use way more powdered sugar to keep the frosting at a good consistency.
In fact, you would have to use 4 cups of powdered sugar to help it go from soft and stringy to thick.
OR — you can use 1 cup of powdered sugar and call it good.
Using only 1 cup of powdered sugar will produce less cream cheese frosting overall, but I’ll take a lightly sweet frosting over a ridiculously sweet frosting any day.
How Much Frosting Will This Make?
This cream cheese frosting recipe yields 1 1/2 cups of frosting. Which is enough to pipe 12-14 cupcakes. You can cover a single round or rectangle cake with it, but double the recipe for a layered cake.
If you want another great option that yields a little more, my whipped cream cheese frosting makes 4 cups. It’s equally tasty, even lighter in texture, and still only slightly sweet.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
Let me show you how easy it is to make this cream cheese frosting.
- Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth.
- Gradually add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. (Gradually adding the butter helps it fluff up, creating volume, and blend better with the cream cheese.)
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla all at once.
- Blend until combined and smooth. Use for any recipe that calls for cream cheese frosting.
Tips For Making Cream Cheese Icing
- Which type of cream cheese should I use? I’ve used full-fat and Neufchatel cream cheese for this recipe. Neufchatel will be slightly softer, but still manageable. Brick-style cream cheese is a must. Do NOT use cream cheese tubs/spreads.
- Use COLD cream cheese. This is not a typo. It seems like a big no-no, but it works, I promise. The room temperature cream cheese will help blend the two together without making the frosting soft.
- Use flat beaters, if possible. Honestly, my cheap $20-ish Hamilton Beach hand mixer (affiliate) is my favorite. The flat beaters help mix the frosting in a bowl better than in a stand mixer.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together as long as you want BEFORE adding the powdered sugar and vanilla. Try and get all the lumps out beforehand. Once the powdered sugar is added, don’t beat it for too long or the frosting will become too soft to pipe. If this happens, place the frosting in the refrigerator or freezer until it firms back up.
- Type of butter to use: Unsalted butter is best, so if you want to add salt, you can control the amount you put in. Make sure that the butter is room temperature for this recipe.
Can I Color this Frosting?
Yes, this cream cheese frosting can be dyed. I recommend food color gels over liquid food coloring to avoid adding too much liquid into the frosting.
How to Store Cream Cheese Frosting
Due to the cream cheese, you will want to store this frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Any cakes/cupcakes that have been frosted with cream cheese icing can be left out at room temperature for up to 2 hours. If you don’t like cold cake, simply remove the cake/cupcakes from the fridge and bring them to room temperature for 20-30 minutes before consuming.
To Freeze: Place cream cheese frosting in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. You may want to stir/re-whip it gently to freshen it up.
More Cream Cheese Frosting Recipes:
I’ve made many variations of this same recipe! Pick your flavor:
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 oz (226 g) brick-style cream cheese, COLD
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick) room temperature
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth.
- Gradually add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until smooth and well blended.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla all at once. Blend until combined and smooth. (Don’t beat too long or the frosting will be too soft to pipe. If this happens, place the frosting in the refrigerator or freezer until it firms back up.) Use for any recipe that calls for cream cheese frosting.
Video
Notes
- YIELD: 1 ½ cups frosting, which will frost about 12-14 cupcakes
- STORAGE: Store this frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Any cakes/cupcakes that have been frosted with cream cheese icing can be left out at room temperature for up to 2 hours. If you don’t like cold cake, simply remove the cake/cupcakes from the fridge and bring them to room temperature for 20-30 minutes before consuming.
- TO FREEZE: Place cream cheese frosting in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. You may want to stir/re-whip it gently to freshen it up.
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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Extra pictures and video added 4/1/17. Post updated with step-by-step photos January 2024.
This is amazing. Would it also work with mascarpone??
Hi Shannon, I’m not entirely sure it would hold it’s structural quality with the mascarpone, but you could try it. Also you would want to do lemon juice instead of vanilla to mimic the tang of the cream cheese. Let me know if you try it, and how it works out!
Hi Amber, I tried this on my Easter carrot cake this year. Yum. Just the right combination and the right amount of sugar. I did experience a problem I’ve had before – little beads of cream cheese at the end. Funny, the mixture was very smooth after adding the butter to the smooth cream cheese but once I added the sugar, the little beads of cream cheese appeared. This happened the last time I made a cream cheese and sour cream frosting! I ended up adding candied carrots on top to disguise…
Darn! Be sure to mix it really well with the hand mixer until you see absolutely no lumps and then add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Don’t add the powdered sugar and vanilla until you have gotten all the lumps out. You can really let it mix like crazy as much as you want to before you add the powdered sugar and vanilla. If it helps to soften the cream cheese, and then make the frosting, you can do that, but you may need to refrigerate the frosting to stiffen it up a bit before you use it for spreading on the cake.
Have a carrot cake in the oven for our Easter dessert, and realized I had too little powdered sugar to make my usual cream cheese frosting. This is the first recipe I clicked on while Googling, and it was perfect timing! Your recipe turned out great, and it’s much better tasting than the one I’ve been making for over 30 years. Thank you!
Aw this makes me so happy! Thanks for your review Katherine! Glad it was a hit!
Amber,
Just make this frosting! My husband had eaten some red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting from a lady next door to my mom and raved about it…..so not to be undone I went looking for a cream cheese recipe and found yours. I made it and he is the happiest husband ever, even says yours is better than my mom’s next door neighbor. Thanks so much for sharing.
Loreta
That’s AWESOME! So glad you enjoyed it! It really is the best recipe!
Can you freeze the cupcakes with the icing on?
I would freeze them separately to ensure the best quality.
You were right: sloppy sloppy yuk yuk!!! Second attempt I stuck to your recipe exactly. Amazing. Lush!! Very happy to use plenty of scrapers as that meant more for me to lick!!! Thanks Amber, and good on you for replying to every single comment since you first posted this recipe!! Xx
Yep, the extra liquid just doesn’t do well with the cream cheese frostings for some reason. Glad you enjoyed the original recipe! It’s one of our favorite, most used frostings for sure!
Hi Amber. Do you think it would work with some strawberry juice in place of vanilla? This recipe looks great!
Hi Pippa! You could try it. I’m afraid you won’t get a ton of strawberry flavor unless you add a lot and that would make the frosting pretty soft. If you are just frosting a sheet cake, you would be okay, but to use it for piping frosting on a cupcake, probably not. Good luck!
First, let me say that this cream cheese frosting is perfection itself!
I first made this in January for my mom’s birthday. I frosted a dark chocolate fudge cake with it and it was out of this world delicious! I almost got a big head when everyone at the party raved about it!
And to think I was nervous about making it for the first time!
How about a chocolate version? Ideas?
Also wanted to say for those who have had trouble making it, I believe the key is making sure the butter & cream cheese are softened enough before you begin. Once those key ingredients
are softened just right, magic happens!
Wow, that sounds amazing to pair it with a dark chocolate fudge cake! Thanks for your review Gia! As for a chocolate version, you can always try adding 1 or 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder with the powdered sugar. I haven’t tried that yet, but I don’t think it will effect the texture.
tried this and this is my favorite cream chesse recepi so far!
That’s so great! I’m so glad you liked it!
Hi Amber, Will this frosting pipe basket weave? And would it help to stiffen frosting by adding tsp meringue?
Hi Penny, sorry for the delayed response. I have no problems piping with it, unless it gets too warm in the bag from my hands. You can absolutely try adding the meringue powder to see if that will make an undeniably pipe-able frosting. I might also suggest using some unflavored gelatin powder like you would for a stabilized whipped cream. I would love to hear if it turns out! Thanks!
Some of my posts that I have used this frosting for piping:
https://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/2015/03/rainbow-cupcakes/
https://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/2015/02/gender-reveal-cupcakes/
https://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/2014/10/cinnamon-roll-sugar-cookies/
https://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/2015/02/coconut-lime-cupcakes/
I just wanted you to know I will be trying this today! I’ve tried a few cream cheese frostings before, but they’re usually too sweet or just not right! I’m making a red velvet cake today and I will let you know how it goes!!! Thank you for sharing though.. I’m excited to try it!
Do you have any buttercream frosting recipes? I’ve been searching around trying to find one of those that isn’t too sweet as well!
I hope it went over well Amanda! I’m not a huge buttercream lover, so I don’t have a great recipe on my site for that yet. I will keep that in mind for a future post though!